The man who has met God is not looking for
something - he has found it; he is not searching for light - upon him the Light has
already shined. A.W. Tozer

My husband and I enjoy hiking, although some
would not consider our treks through the woods hiking. Jim parks the car in the shade and
we follow "Scenic Trail" signs. The trails are smooth and clearly marked. Many
of the paths come to crossroads. At first, this caused me to panic. What if we take the
wrong trail and get lost? We'll never find our way back to the car. Jim let me wonder and
worry, but he knew all along what I soon learned. In the world of Scenic Paths, all paths
lead back to the car. The makers of tenderfoot trails aren't in the business of getting
amateur hikers lost.

On a particularly memorable path, we came to one of those crossroads. To
the left, the trail led deep into the dark woods. The trail on the right followed a
winding creek. Shining through the trees, the sun glistened off the clear water. We
stopped and listened to the water rushing over the rocks and splashing the banks of the
creek, then continued our hike. As usual, the trail met up with the other path at yet
another crossroad.

Life is a journey, much like our hikes through the woods. Crossroads
confront us daily. We can take the darker path through the forest or the bright, majestic
one along the creek. In the woods, both paths lead to the same place. In real life
however, all the paths lead us to different destinations. But always, one path leads to
the peace that transcends human understanding.

What if we come to a crossroad and take the wrong path, the darker one?
What if we don't see the light at the end of the more difficult path and take the easier
one? Will we be lost forever? Are we on our own? When we turn back to the light, which is
our Lord Jesus Christ, our darkened path meets up with the bright path God planned for us
all along.

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Describe a crossroad where you have taken the wrong path.

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How did you get back on the right path? Or are you still in that crossroad?

Light in the Old
Testament

The light of nature,
the light of science, the light of reason, are but as darkness compared with the divine
light which shines only from the word of God. J. K. Lord

Throughout the Bible, God reveals Himself as light shining in the
darkness. God used light to help Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The Egyptians
greatly abused the Israelites, and God decided to free them. He had a plan for them. That
plan required them to follow Him to a better place. God sent Moses to Pharaoh with a
message, "Let my people go." Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites leave Egypt,
so God sent plagues of blood, frogs, gnats, flies, illness on their livestock, boils,
hail, and locusts. Still, Pharaoh would not let the people go.

&
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness
will spread over Egypt - darkness that can be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand
toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see
anyone else or leave his place for three days. Yet, all the Israelites had light in the
places where they lived. Exodus 10:21-23

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How did God use light and darkness in these verses? Have you ever felt darkness that
can be felt?

Pharaoh still didn't let the Israelites go, so God wielded His final
blow, the killing of the firstborn of all the Egyptians. But the children of the
Israelites were spared. Finally, Pharaoh let the Israelites leave Egypt. God used light to
lead the people on the journey He had set forth for them.

&
After leaving Succoth they camped at Etham on the edge of the desert. By day the Lord went
ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of
fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of
cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. Exodus
13:20-22

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How did God use light in these verses?

In Exodus, God used light to provide for the Israelites comfort,
protection, and guidance. The Psalms are filled with references to light. God turns
darkness to light. When the path of our life seems dark and dreary, God turns the darkness
into light. In fact, He is our light. And God has given us His Word as a light to guide us
along our path. The Bible is God's way of leading us on our journeys through life.

&
You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I
can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. Psalm 18:28-29

& For with
you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Psalm 36:9

& Your word
is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

&
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are
radiant, giving light to the eyes. Psalm 19:8

&
The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple. Psalm
119:130

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How did the Psalmist use light in the above verses?

Light in
the New Testament

It would little avail to ask
how we know. That would be like asking how we know that Beethoven's "Hymn to
Joy" is joyous. If a man were to say, "It is not joyous to me," he would
not condemn the music; he would tell only his morbidness. There is no logic to establish
an axiom, for an axiom is the basis of all logic; and the soul of Jesus has axiomatic
truth. Jesus is light, and there is no proof for light except light itself. George
Buttrick

God continues to reveal Himself as light in the New Testament. Jesus
Christ is the fulfillment of all God's promises. John tells us that Jesus is the Word. He
is the light, and he came into the world to save each and every one of us. Jesus promises
that whoever follows him will never walk in darkness.

&
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was
with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made
that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines
in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:1-5

& The Word
became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One
and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 14:1

& For God so
loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the
world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but
whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name
of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men
loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil
hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that
what he has done has been done through God. John 3:16-21

& When Jesus
spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me
will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

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According to the above verses, who is our light?

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Is Jesus your light? I am praying he is. Describe how he became your light. In other
words, describe how you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

A New Path

Who am I? At the age of 40, my answer came quickly with little thought.
I identified myself as a Christian, wife, and mother. And I was a nurse. I enjoyed my job.
It was hard work and stressful, but fulfilling. After twenty years though, the joy was
fading. Between the grateful smiles of patients and the praise of my employers, I felt an
emptiness, a restlessness. The excitement was gone. I dragged myself out of bed on
workdays. Was this burn out?

I dropped my son off at school one morning, then headed for work.
Gripping the steering wheel, I prayed. More than words, my feelings and thoughts poured
out to God. Lord, I'm not happy with my job anymore, but I can't leave, the money's too
good. What else would I do? Are you trying to tell me something? Where do you want me to
go from here? Lord, if you want me to do something else, tell me, show me. And Lord, you
might have to shout at me because you know I don't want to hear.

I went on to work and went on with my life. My prayer seemed to go
unanswered. I continued my career as a home health nurse. At times I enjoyed it and felt
fulfilled, but more often, I dragged myself from patient to patient. The joy was gone.

I see now how God answered my prayer. At the time, it seemed like the
end of the world, my world anyway. I felt like illness was bringing my life to an end. Now
I realize my life was only changing direction. Instead of a dead end, I was at a
crossroad. I couldn't continue on the path I was on, so I sat down in the middle of the
road and wept.

Then I chose another path, at first taking furtive small steps. I quit
my job and stayed home to write. My family and I agreed to give my new career one year. At
the end of that year, we planned to evaluate this new path. We because this
involved the entire family. Gone was the security of a second paycheck. But Mom was home
more. For now, Im continuing to write until God shines His light on yet another
path.

I was home more, and I was a happier, less stressed Mom. At the end of
my first year as a writer, I made a commitment to continue my writing career until my son
James was in college. Four more years at home. Then my husband and I faced another
crossroad. James off to college. And Mom? I now see endless choices, endless paths.

OCD - obsessive-compulsive disorder. That explained the checking -
doors, appliances, paperwork, patients, doctors' orders. That explained why my life as a
wife, mother, and home health nurse was in shambles. This was the strange illness that
seemed to be bringing my life to an end. Medication helped, therapy helped, but still the
endless checking and anxiety made life unbearable. As I had so often, I turned to God's
Word. Bible verses I had known most of my life took on special meaning as I depended on
God for healing and relief from anxiety.

And I turned to books. I read all I could about OCD. Self-directed
cognitive-behavior therapy, God's Word, prayer, and the support of my family and friends
gave me back my life, and I wanted to share my discoveries with others. I wrote several
articles and a continuing education home study course for nurses. A remarkable series of
events put me in touch with Bruce M. Hyman, Ph.D, director of The OCD Resource Center of
South Florida. Together, we wrote The OCD Workbook, Your Guide to Breaking Free from
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. After selling over 40,000 copies, we published the
second edition in 2005. Read more about this book at http://www.cherrypedrick.com/ocdworkbook/ . Read about
other books I've coauthored at www.CherryPedrick.com

What if I had listened more closely to God from the beginning? Would God
have smoothed my path? Could I have made the transition from nurse to writer more
gracefully? Or was this God's will for me, for my family, and for others I've touched with
my life? God often allows us to experience trials rather than taking us around them. This
helps us identify with the pain of others and makes us better able to comfort them through
their hard times. I'll never know the answers. But I do know that God is always there to
put me back on His bright path, illuminated by His glory. Read more about OCD at http://www.cherrypedrick.com/

Lighten Your Load

The heaviest end of the
cross lies ever on His shoulders. If He bids us carry a burden,
He carries it also. Charles Haddon Spurgeon

The Spiritual Journey section of the Life Changes Website is about
traveling through life with God as our light. He illuminates our path and guides us
through His Word. God's Word, the Bible, is our light. What happens when we follow Him,
rather than the world and our sinful desires? Our burdens become light. In the eleventh
chapter of Matthew, Jesus urges us to follow him. He promises rest to the weary and
burdened. As we follow God, our light, we will lighten our load and simplify our lives.

&
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest
for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30

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Do you feel weary and burdened today? Do you have burdens you need to give to Jesus?

We must distinguish between
the burden-bearing that is right and the burden-bearing that is wrong. We ought never to
bear the burden of sin or doubt, but there are burdens placed on us by God which he does
not intend to lift off. He wants us to roll them back on him. Oswald Chambers